Package



United States Patent 3,107,007 PACKAGE Paul S. Klein, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to 42 Products Ltd, Inc., Santa Monica, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Jan. 29, 1962, Ser. No. 169,476 4 Claims. (Cl. 206-1) This invention relates generally to packaging and more particularly to a case and its contents, with the case having a removable cover and the contents having an extension through the cover by which the package may be picked up and moved from place to place as an encased unit.

Packages of this invention are especially well suited for marketing of toiletries, for example, such as bottles of cologne and after-shave lotion. When the invention is embodied in that type of package, the case may advantageously be made of transparent material, and an open frame rack may be used to mount the bottles in the case so that. the bottles-with their colored liquids will be attractively displayed.

It is an object of this invention to provide a package case having a removable cover with a central opening and adapted to enclose an article having a member projecting through the cover opening, and means in the case and engageable with the article and the case body for suspending the case body and cover when the package is picked up by grasping the projecting member.

A specific object is to provide an encased rack with bottles of toiletries, for example, the rack having a handle projecting through the cover of the case by which the rack and its case may be picked up.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a case for a package of the above-mentioned character Which is simple in construction, nice in appearance, easy to open for removal of its contents, convenient to pick up and carry, and economical to manufacture.

Further objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following part of this specification wherein the details of construction of a preferred embodiment are 'described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a package embodying this invention and comprising a transparent case;

FIGURE 2 is a medial vertical section through the package on a larger scale taken upon a plane indicated by line 22 on FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the package taken upon a plane indicated by line 33 on FIGURE 2; and,

FIGURE 4 is a detail section taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawing in greater detail, the package illustrated therein, consists of a case and its contents, the case being designated generally by reference numeral 10, and the contents of the case comprising a wire rack 12 holding three bottles designated by numerals 13, 14 and 15 respectively, and two pumps designated by numerals 17 and 18 respectively.

Rack 12 comprises a tripod base of three legs 20, a central post 21, and a wire frame 22 for holding the bottles, the frame for the illustrated embodiment being rotatable and slidable axially on the post. More particularly, the frame comprises two Washers 23 and 24 around the post, three rectilinear wire forms 26, 27 and 28 disposed in axial planes of the post angularly spaced apart about 120 degrees from each other and soldered at their inner ends to the washers to define the sides of three sector compartments for the bottles, and two wire rings 30 and 31 encircling the post and secured as with solder to the three wire forms. The upper ring 30 defines the outer extremities of the sector compartments of the frame, and the lower ring 31, smaller in diameter than the upper ring, provides a bottom support for the bottles. A projection 33 on the post serves as a stop engageable by the lower washer 24 for limiting the extent to which the wire frame slides downwardly on the post. A spherical knob 34 is secured upon the upper end of the post to serve as a convenient handle for lifting the package.

Referring now to the details of construction of the case 10, itcomprises a body 36 and removable cover 37, both of sheet material, which for the illustrated embodiment is a transparent thermoplastic resin so that the contents may be seen. The body 36 is formed of a cylindrical side Wall 39, here of circular cross-section; and a bottom wall 40. The cover 37 provides a top wall 42 of the case and includes a cylindrical skirt 43 telescopically receiving the upper end portion of the side Wall 39, preferably with a snug fit. The top opening of the case body is designated by reference numeral 45, it being defined by an inwardly turned flange 46 at the upper end of the side Wall 39. The top wall 42 has a central opening 47 through which the upper end portion of the post 21 extends, the opening 47 being large enough to permit relative passage of the knob 34- through it so that the cover'rnay be removed.

There is aflat sheet 50 of transparent thermoplastic material extending horizontally in the case, and it serves to suspend the case from the rack and bottles when the package is picked up by the knob 34 as will now be explained. Sheet 54 is of a size to slidably fit within the side wall 39. Its diameter is slightly greater than the inside diameter of the inwardly extending flange 0r rim 46, the sheet being flexible enough for such contortion thereof as is necessary to clear the rim 46 when being placed inside the case. The sheet has a central opening 51 permitting the sheet to be placed down over knob 34. There are three openings 53 in the sheet for accommodating the necks 54 of the bottles respectively. Each bottle has a cap 55 which in the illustrated embodiment is slightly larger in diameter than the sheet openings 53. To place the sheet 50 down upon the bottles to the position shown in FIGURE 2, it is necessary first to remove the caps 55 from the bottles, place the sheet down upon the bottles with the bottle necks 54 extending through th sheet openings 53, then replace the caps on the bottles. The making of the openings 53 smaller than the outside of the caps provides for keeping the sheet 50 on the rack and bottles when the assembly of rack, bottles and sheet is placed into the case body with the sheet flexing sufficiently to pass through the rim 46.

As mentioned above, the illustrated package includes two pumps 17 and 18 for pumping liquid from the bottles. These pumps are of conventional type and their structural details are not material to this invention, it being sufficient for the purposes of this specification to refer to each merely as comprising a body 58 adapted to be secured upon the neck of a bottle, a depressable head 59 with nozzle 60, and a tube 61 of a length sufficient to extend down to the bottom of a bottle, such that when the pump is fitted to the neck of a bottle in the place of its bottle cap 55, down- Ward pressing of the pump head will cause liquid to flow up the tube 61 and be sprayed from the nozzle. The pumps are positioned in the case 10 upon the fiat sheet 50 with their tubes 61 extending through sheet openings 62.

The pumps 17 and 18 are of significance in this description only because they extend higher above the sheet 50 than do the bottle caps 55 whereby the height of the pumps is determinative of the minimum permissible axial dimension of the skirt portion 43 of the case cover. It is apparent, of couse, that were the pumps 17 and 18 not present in the case, the case could be made shorter such 3 that the top wall 4 2 rests upon the tops of the bottle caps 55.

When the package is picked up by its handle 34, the case body 36, if no t frictionally tight enough within the cover skirt 43 to prevent its sliding downwardly from the cover, will drop with respect to the rack 12 until the sheet 50 engages the inside top rim 46 of the case. The bottle caps wfll bear upon the sheet 5% around the sheet openings 53 and thereby add support to the sheet for maintaining it fiat against fiexure such that the sheet 5% can be pulled out from the case through the rim 46 only by holding the case body tightly enough and pulling on the handle 34- to intentionally pull the rack and bottles and the sheet 5:? out from the case body. In order to maintain the cover 37 telescopically fitted over the upper end of the case body, the skirt portion 43 of the cover is of a width (dimension taken axially of the case) greater than the space between the sheet 50 and the inturned rim 46.

While the particular package herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A package comprising a case and a rack with a plurality of articles, the case comprising a hollow body and a removable cover, the cover having a central opening formed therein, the rack comprising a base, a central post, and means defining a series of compartments around the post for receiving said articles respectively, said post projecting through aid cover opening for use in grasping the same to carry the package, and means engageable with said articles and with the inside surface of the case body whereby the package may be picked up as a unit by grasping the projecting portion of said post with the case body 7 being suspended from the rack and articles.

2. A package comprising a case formed of transparent sheet material and a Wire rack loaded with bottles, the

cases comprising a hollow body and a removable cover, the case body having a bottom Wall and a cylindrical side wall defining an upper end opening for the body, the cover having a top wall for the case and a circumferentially continuous skint for telescopically receiving the upper circumferentially continuous portion of said body side wall to cover the body opening, the rack comprising a base resting on the inside of the bottom wall of the case body, a central post extending up from the base, and a Wire frame defining a series of open compartments around the post for receiving said bottles respectively, the cover having a central opening, said post projecting through said cover opening, the case body having a stop member projecting inwardly and adjacent the body opening, and a flat sheet of transparent material in the case and extending in a plane generally normal to the axis of the case and positioned upon said bottles, said sheet being engageable with said stop member when the package is picked up by the projecting portion of said post to suspend the case body from the rack and bottles.

3. A package according to claim 2 in which said stop member is a flange around the inside of the case body defining said opening of said case body.

4. A package according to claim 2 in which the space between said sheet and said stop member when the rack is resting on the bottom wall of the case body is less than the axial dimension of the cover skirt.

References Cited "m the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 82,817 Fenn Oct. 6, 1868 1,341,960 Meyer June 1, 1920 1,573,158 Gilchrist Feb. 16, 1926 2,049,884 Wurster Aug. 4, 1936 2,189,955 Hokirk Feb. 13, 1940 2,527,007 Golino' Oct. 24, 1950 2,774,524 Krause Dec. 18, 1956 FORElGN PATENTS 1,299 Great Britain 1883 

1. A PACKAGE COMPRISING A CASE AND A RACK WITH A PLURALITY OF ARTICLES, THE CASE COMPRISING A HOLLOW BODY AND A REMOVABLY COVER, THE COVER HAVING A CENTRAL OPENING FORMED THEREIN, THE RACK COMPRISING A BASE, A CENTRAL POST, AND MEANS DEFINING A SERIES OF COMPARTMENTS AROUND THE POST FOR RECEIVING SAID ARTICLES RESPECTIVELY, SAID POST PROJECTING THROUGH SAID COVER OPENING FOR USE IN GRASPING THE SAME TO CARRY THE PACKAGE, AND MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID ARTICLES AND WITH THE INSIDE SURFACE OF THE CASE BODY WHEREBY THE PACKAGE MAY BE PICKED UP AS A UNIT BY GRASPING THE PROJECTING PORTION OF SAID POST WITH THE CASE BODY BEING SUSPENDED FROM THE RACK AND ARTICLES. 